


A World That Sparkles

by thatfakeotakugirl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Brief mentions of Ymir and Marco, Canon Compliant, Ereri if you squint super hard, Inspired by Your Lie In April, Other, Piano and music, Put me in my feels, levi feels, not a sad ending but not a happy one either, not an AU tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 17:54:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15635763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfakeotakugirl/pseuds/thatfakeotakugirl
Summary: Levi’s squad stumbles upon an ancient relic... it teaches them something about love and living in the present.





	A World That Sparkles

**Author's Note:**

> Alright!!  
> This was inspired by post-“Your Lie in April”-depression. That being said, you don’t have to watch Your Lie in April to understand what happens. I merely drew inspiration from the anime. I hope your emotions are sated by this piece!!! 
> 
> Happy reading!

“Oi, why is it so dusty?” Connie coughs dryly as dust flies up from the ancient floorboards and floods his nose; his eyes cross to look at a small black beetle that has landed and scuttled around on the very tip of his nose.

Grey. Brown. Muted white. The cellar is dingy and dull, plain. Nothing out of the ordinary. It doesn’t appear to be any more gloomy than the hollow call of a solitary crow on the angled fence post outside, or the delicate, billowing cobwebs lining the doorframe.

“It’s an old basement, obviously! Doesn’t seem like there’s much to eat in here.” Sasha rummages through her emergency pouch for a tiny morsel of bread or a couple of nuts. She comes up dry. “Aghhhh. Levi Heichou! I’m hungry and it’s _so so_ gross in here.” There’s a deafening silence to contrast the echo of her voice, which lingers in the air. Levi sniffs.

 “Shut up, brat. Everyone, do a quick sweep for usable supplies and then let’s leave. The atmosphere in here is dirty,” Levi’s voice is flat as usual. His mouth is puckered into a distasteful grimace, however. He wonders if it would be too much to clean a random basement. His finger sweeps the rim of a cracked flowerpot. He rubs the airy, delicate soil between his thumb and pointer, and decides against impromptu cleaning. 

Jean’s fingers twitch to pull the white covers off of a lonely-looking object in the middle of the room. Through the grimy windows that circle the room just under the damp ceiling, a beam of pale, grey light pours onto the mystery shape. The shadow it casts onto the cold bare floors is comprised of elegant curves and sharp, straight lines. He surveys the unfamiliar silhouette carefully. _A sleeping titan? A bear? A limited edition couch?_ With a _whoosh_ the blanket is off, releasing a cloud of ashy white dust into the stagnant air. Jean coughs for a second, feeling the musky scent of old furniture seep into his clothing. The squad’s eyes turn to Jean and his discovery. 

It isn’t beautiful, whatever it is. The once glossy finish is gone, leaving behind fading stains on the black wood. A long line of white blocks is divided up by black blocks arranged into groups of twos and threes. The static colored blocks looked important, some sunken, but still present. A large curved slab of dark mahogany is propped up with a stick of wood. The frame protected an intricate lattice of felt, wood, and wire strings. Four sturdy legs, holding the system up.

Armin ventures closer, curiosity burning bright in the shadow of his loss and anguish.

He wonders if this is something from beyond the salty waters. Eren wonders if it can kill a titan. Mikasa wonders if it will protect Eren. Historia wonders if Ymir would know something about it. Jean wonders if Marco is seeing it. Connie wonders if his mother would like to decorate it. Sasha wonders if she can cook on it. Levi wonders if the all this furniture dust is making him ill. They all hope. They place their faith and hopes into this unknown structure, bundle it up with a cloth of despair and wait. Wondering if somehow, something will come to help them. Will come to guide them. _Will this nightmare end someday?_  

Eren is the first to break the brooding silence. A gasp. 

 

“ _Piano_.”

 

Everyone turns to look at Eren, wondering what the _hell_ he just said. They find that his eyes are closed, and his hands are clasped firmly in Historia’s. _His Founding Titan._ Their pale cheeks are graced with glittering rivers, collecting drops at the tips of their chins and clumping in their lashes. They look like ghosts. Mikasa holds her hand out; suddenly, they look hopelessly far away.  

In the memories they share, it is white. It is grey. It is dull. The images blur together, undistinguished whispers and blurry faces.

Then suddenly, it stops: clarity.

There is a _piano_ , featuring glossed mahogany and polished keys. Then there are sounds. Sounds like birdsong. Sounds like laughter and sunshine. Sounds like warm kisses and extra servings at mealtime. A dark-skinned woman’s fingers caress the instrument like a child, she looks up at the two. Eren and Historia’s fingers are linked tightly, their eyes holding wonder. She smiles.

 

_What is this feeling?_

 

Eren and Historia fly apart. They’re shaking like baby birds in the snow. Choked sobs escape them and yet, they haven’t the faintest idea why. 

“ _Eren_!” Mikasa is by his side, as always. She is holding his face, rubbing his cold hands. Jean helps Historia up, her trembling hand pinching her temples.

“Again,” Eren’s voice is scratchy, as if thirsty for something. 

“Again,” Historia echoes.

No one but those two know what had happened. Eren and Historia had experienced something wonderful, something vast and beautiful and far, far beyond them. Something they chased after. They had seen hope, and everything in them screamed

 

“ _come back, come back.”_

 

Eren pushes himself towards the piano. Kicking a box towards the instrument. He sits in front of it, fingers hovering and hesitating above the instrument. He didn’t want to, he _couldn’t_ touch it. It would break, and then their hope would fly away like the sounds in their memories, like tiny butterflies with papery wings. Historia places her hand on his shoulder. His eyes fly open, suddenly feeling the warm air of a Sunday afternoon rushing around him, engulfing him and telling him to _breathe. Slow down. Savour._ His fingers move, like the dark-skinned woman. As he tentatively caresses the keys, time ceases to exist in the bubble that has formed around the small party.

Levi has seen many things in his life. Levi has heard the pained screams of a young girl and heard the crunch of his own bones. He’s smelled the rotten flesh of a monster and has tasted the filth of the sewer. None of those memories would prepare him for this.

Suddenly in the dark abyss, there is a burst of color. Blue butterflies and pink cherry blossoms float out of the instrument. There is yellow sunshine and rolling green hills. Violent reds and sultry purples begin to replace the musky white and grey. There is laughter and vibrant sound.

 

_What is this feeling?_

 

Levi’s hands begin to fist up. His shoulders begin to shake. Suddenly, he isn’t humanity’s strongest. He is pulled into a childhood he has never seen. He sees a loving mother and father, who love him and hold him. He sees red ladybirds and silvery fish. Levi’s mouth pulls into a wide sob, teeth clenching and eyes squeezing shut. He feels himself clawing at his mind to keep the images close and push them far away.

_Eh? What is this? Tears?_

There are smiles at the dinner table… there are fresh rolls in the oven.

 

_What is this feeling?_

 

_Where is Eren, whom I must protect? Where is Erwin? Hanji?_

There are tiny hands clutching his shirt. A child. There is licks on his feet.

_A dog? I never… I never… no… this isn’t… this-_  

His fingers twitch and there is a _bang_. His eyes fly open, pulled out of the dream. His eyes are pained as unshed and shed tears pool in his eyes and run down his cheeks.

 

_Come back, come back._

 

The colors are gone, and the instrument is silent. His hands tremble around his rifle which is smoking at the recent fire. The piano has a gaping hole, and it promises to never play again. 

Everyone is quiet, reminiscing their hopes that they heard in Eren’s sound. Then suddenly a laugh. 

Mikasa is laughing quietly, then louder, and then loudest. She is boisterous with tears of mirth and anguish rolling down her cheeks.

 

_What is this feeling?_

 

“Such a weapon this is, huh? Making the strongest soldiers of humanity cry like babies. This piano.” she smiles, it is bittersweet.

Levi crumples to the floor, suddenly exhausted. Slowly, he is surrounded by his comrades. They hold onto each other for what feels like eternity. Their breathing mingling, fingers trembling. Hand in hand, cheek to cheek. Clutching at each other, refusing to let go. They become a unit, comforting each other and being comforted.

 

_What is this feeling?_

 

Their hope is like the piano.  Mostly it is silent, and sombre. But sometimes it shows them vibrant color. If no one tears this hope away from them, it threatens to consume them and leave them hopelessly deluded in this cruel world.

Levi had decided in that one moment to be that devil who would tear away that hope. Shooting through it, rendering it useless.

Their hope is like the piano. It is beautiful and vibrant. But it is a false sound. It lies about laughter and happiness. Inside the piano there are only cold metal strings and carved wood. 

Only the strong may reach past this sweet, cloudy poison and fight in this reality.

One thing is certain. Levi, who fights through future and the past, will remember the hope he felt in that little grey cellar. He will remember the beautiful color that spun and sparkled brilliantly under Eren’s fingertips. He will remember the gentle kisses and summer breeze.

Their bubble pops and time begins to flow once more. Levi stands and he hoists his rifle across his shoulder. He will fight so that he may see Eren’s color someday again. But for today, the night is falling, and the next challenge is running and jumping towards them.

“We should get going, neh?”

 

_This feeling is called love._

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooooo. Hey. 
> 
> Yeah, I don’t know if this Levi is OOC or if he’d genuinely be like this if he was severely touched and sad. Anyway, the Ereri is SOOOO minor that it can’t even be considered Ereri lmao. I think it’s more like Levi is doting over Eren lol. Btw, if you have any questions about this fic, I’ll be super happy to answer them in the comments! 
> 
> I encourage people to view this work however they want! I added the last line to give people some closure but you can imagine that feeling to be whatever you want!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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